


Home and Away

by Yatorihell



Series: In The Darkness [75]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, ノラガミ | Noragami (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-28 17:28:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30143058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yatorihell/pseuds/Yatorihell
Summary: The trio seeks sanctuary after the wedding attack.
Relationships: Iki Hiyori/Yato
Series: In The Darkness [75]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/547369
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10





	Home and Away

The world reappeared in a cacophony of noise and light that for a moment made it seem as if it were daytime. Bright lights strung across the lampposts stretched back as far as the eye could see. A double-decker bus passed beside them on the pavement where they had emerged, and Yato noticed that his and Yukine’s hands were still caught tight in Hiyori’s.

Hiyori broke out of her stunned silence as she took in the road, the streets, and the shops. She dropped their hands.

“Where are we?” Yukine asked.

“Central London,” Hiyori replied. “My parents’ hospital is just down there…”

She looked to the right down the main street, which was swarming with revellers and shoppers, but quickly turned in the opposite direction.

“Just walk quickly, we need to find somewhere to change,” Hiyori said over her shoulder.

Her head swung back and forth as she led them through the crowd, ignoring the glances they received from drunks spilling from the pubs and women bashing their way through with designer bags. Yato took in the sights around him, trying to find any landmarks but none stuck out to him as they meandered into side streets and pulled into a shadowed alley.

“Hiyori, we don’t have anything to change in _to_ ,” Yukine pointed out the flaw in her plan. In their wedding attire, they looked out of place for the grimy underground of London’s alleys, but there was not much they could do about it.

Hiyori’s gaze dropped to her clutch bag which was secured to her wrist. Yato wouldn’t have noticed it as it was partially hidden in the folds of her skirt. She pulled open the zipper and rummaged in the bag far deeper than physically possible. Yato and Yukine exchanged looks as Hiyori began to pull out jeans, shoes, tops, and jumpers until they had outfits bundled in their arms.

“How…” Yato started.

“Undetectable Extension Charm,” Hiyori answered before he could ask. Hiyori shifted the bag and clattering could be heard inside, like boxes falling over. She pulled out a long black coat a pulled it on and buttoned it over her dress.

“When did you do this?” Yukine asked. He was already ripping off his tie and dinner jacket, throwing them back to Hiyori who stashed them away.

“This morning when you two went to help set up the wedding,” Hiyori admitted. “I remembered something Yato said when we first got the invitations and… I just got a bad feeling.”

Yato frowned but the words came back quickly – his comment about why Kofuku and Daikoku had kept the wedding secret until the last minute: ‘ _Don’t want to advertise when and where to kill the Order, do they?’_

“I have everything we need,” Hiyori continued. “Clothes, the stuff Tenjin’s left us in his will, the Dark Arts book, your mirror, and Sakura’s wand.”

Hearing the last words, Yato could’ve kissed her. She covered their tracks perfectly. If Deatheaters had raided the Burrow, they wouldn’t have discovered they had been there, nor their mission, and she had remembered the two most important items he had left. If it wasn’t for Hiyori, they would have been sat in London with nothing.

“You’re brilliant, you know that?” Yato said.

Hiyori smiled back at him. “Thank you.”

“There’s a café there,” Yukine interrupted. He was pointing at the opposite end of the alley which opened up into a small street. A red neon sign reading ‘OPEN’ was tucked in the window. “We can change in there and work out what to do.”

They trotted up the alley and Yato drew his wand in case something lurked in the darkness, drunk Muggle or worse. They got a curious look from the waitress behind the counter when the three of them piled into the empty café, holding balls of clothes in their arms and what appeared to be a stick in Yato’s hand.

Hiyori politely asked where the bathroom was, and the waitress jutted her head towards two doors on the right-hand side.

Once they had changed and discreetly hidden their clothes inside Hiyori’s purse, they took a booth against the wall, its table sticky with spilled drinks over the years. An old ashtray that seemed cemented to the table along with a basket of condiments gave a nasty smell to the area.

The reality of the attack was sinking in, along with a pit of dread that settled in their stomachs. Yukine was the first to bring it up.

“The others at the wedding – the Order – should we go back?”

“We can’t go back,” Hiyori shook her head. “We don’t know if they’re still there, and even if they aren’t, Kofuku wouldn’t want us to; they came for Yato.”

Silence rippled between them as they thought about what remained of the wedding, who was safe, and brainstormed their next move. The waitress came over to their table, and Hiyori ordered a tea and two coffees. The waitress disappeared behind the counter and back into the kitchen. A second later the coffee machine whirred into life, nearly drowning out their conversation.

“The Leaky Cauldron is close by. We could find out what happened to the Ministry?” Yukine suggested, folding his arms across his chest.

Yato shook his head and dropped his chin in his hands. “I think the glowy ball of light was clear enough. The Sorcerer has taken over the Ministry, just like he wanted.”

The waitress returned with a tray of drinks. The coffee was bitter and gritty, and the teabag had left leaves in the cup, but they couldn’t complain about the price.

The bell above the door chimed and two men – businessmen, by the look of their uniforms – entered the café. They passed by and sat in a booth behind Yukine and Hiyori. Yato watched as they picked up menus and began ordering from the waitress, but his attention was brought back to Hiyori’s and Yukine’s dropped voices.

“We could disapparate and go to the countryside. Let the Order know where we are for a pickup?” Hiyori offered.

“That sounds like the best idea,” Yato agreed. He looked down at the half-drunk drinks, the waitress who had disappeared back into the kitchen and then at Hiyori. “Do you have muggle money to pay for this?”

Hiyori hummed as she swallowed her tepid tea. She put the cup on the saucer with a clatter and reached for her clutch bag. “Sure, I think I have some Muggle money left over.”

The two workmen made identical movements, and without conscious thought, Yato matched their movements. All three of them had their wands drawn and spells leaving their lips.

Yukine lunged across the table, pushing Hiyori down onto the bench. The force of the Deatheater’s spells shattered the tiled wall where her head had just been.

“ _Stupefy!_ ” Yato cursed.

The first Deatheater, a dark-haired man, was hit directly in the jaw by a bolt of red and collapsed to the floor. The other Deatheater, who Yato recognised from the ambush, aimed at Yukine and Hiyori. He bellowed _‘Expulso!’_ , but Yukine was quicker on the draw.

“ _Expelliarmus!_ ” Yukine roared. The Deatheaters wand flicked from his hand but not before the spell darted upwards. The lights above the table exploded in a shower of sparks and cracked plastic and he shielded Hiyori from it with his body.

“ _Petrificus Totalus!_ ” Hiyori cursed.

A bolt of light shot from her wand and struck the Deatheater in the leg. He became rigid and fell face first in the cracked tiles coffee and plastic shards that littered the near-obliterated café.

Panting, Yato looked to Yukine as he hauled himself up from the bench. Hiyori seemed to have been pushed to the floor as she emerged, hair dishevelled and covered in ashtray dust, from under the table. They surveyed the ruins of the café just as a waitress re-emerged with two saucers and cups. She took one look at the café, the two bodies and the three teenagers, dropped the cups and bolted back into the kitchen.

Yato moved over to the petrified Deatheater and kicked him over with his foot. His eyes darted from Yato to Yukine as they stood above him. With a click, the lights went out, and Hiyori could see the light vanish inside the Deluminator Yukine had pulled from his pocket.

“How do you think they found us?” Yukine asked, far too calmly for what had just happened.

“Don’t know, and I don’t think they’d tell us even when the spells have worn off,” Yato replied. He stared into the man’s eyes but saw no fear – only hatred.

Yukine dropped his voice. “What should we do with them?”

 _Kill them?_ Yato thought briefly, but he pushed the idea away quickly. No, they weren’t killers. Yato heard Hiyori take a step in the splintered shards of ceramic, arms wrapped around herself and her wand tight in hand. She looked towards the window, but it seemed no one had heard the commotion.

Yato glared hard at the man before he came to a decision. “Just a memory wipe. If we kill them then they would know that we were here.”

“And the girl?”

Yato shrugged. “She might have left through a back door. The police wouldn’t believe her story either way.”

There was a beat of silence before anyone moved. Yato looked at Hiyori apologetically. It was cruel, but she had the most recent experience with memory charms. “Could you…?”

Hiyori’s mind stuttered for a moment, comprehending what he was asking, before she nodded. She stepped over the broken cups and the Deatheaters arm so that she stood at the top near his head. She aimed her wand downwards and chanted the spell.

“ _Obliviate_.”

Hiyori stepped around to the other Deatheater and repeated the spell as Yato and Yukine set about repairing the café. They heaved the men back into the booth with grunts and swears, but the job was done. When they woke, they would have no recollection of the battle nor seeing them.

“But how could they find us?” Hiyori asked, returning from the kitchen where she had wiped the waitress’s memory. She looked between the two men’s blank expressions. “They couldn’t have used the Trace.”

They had been only apparated less than an hour ago. There were no traces or charms on them, but they had been found instantly. _How?_

“I don’t know, but we need to get somewhere safe before they can find us again,” Yato replied bitterly.

One safe place came to their minds. One that was invisible to those who didn’t know of its existence. One Yato had been afraid to go back to.

“Grimmauld Place?” Hiyori said tentatively.

Yato nodded. “Time to go home.”

~

Twelve Grimmauld Place grated back into existence. The black door popped and dark windows shivered into place, and then there was silence. 

Hiyori and Yukine stood behind Yato, silent and waiting for him to open the door. They knew how important this moment was. He hadn’t been back to Grimmauld Place, not since Sakura died. The last memory he had in this house was a warm fireplace and sherry and Christmas presents. Now it was an echo of a life he may have known.

Yato took a deep breath and turned the doorknob. The door swung open silently. All the lights were off, as abandoned as it had been for the last decade. Yato’s ears pricked as he tried to listen for Ebisu, or Buckbeak, or Coo Phone, but silence greeted him.

He heard Hiyori’s and Yukine’s soft footsteps behind him as they entered the house and softly closed the door. They stood on the doormat, waiting.

“Where is…” Yato trailed off. _Where is everyone? Why is no one here?_

The questions never came.

Something shifted at the end of the hall, at the library door. Before any of them could speak, Sakura emerged from the library. She looked just as she did when they reunited, dressed in light clothes that billowed around her, but her hair was loose this time and there was an unnatural shade of grey to her.

“Sakura?” Yato croaked. He felt a hand on his arm and a few words, but it didn’t register. Sakura was _here_. She was _alive_. “Sakura-.”

She stepped closer. Yato could see the hollowness of her cheeks, the sunken bones and waxy skin that grew thinner and more translucent as she stepped forward. Yato’s heart stuttered, his mouth hanging open slightly, her name was stolen from his breath.

Sakura threw her arms open and screamed, her face contorted in a battle cry and her eye sockets hollow and black. Her hair streamed out behind her as she glided at the three of them, hands outstretched.

Yato raised his wand but no spell came to him, only the memory that he raised his wand against her before, that he had killed her, and that she would never forgive him no matter what he believed.

The apparition exploded in a cloud of dust as her fingers brushed Yato’s throat. He spluttered and gasped, choking on something he didn’t want to know the origin of, and wiped at his watering eyes. Hiyori had pressed herself in the corner by the door, hands covering her head. Yukine stood beside her, equally shaken as Yato with his wand in hand.

“She’s gone, it was just a trap,” Yukine said.

Hiyori peeled her arms away from her face and looked at Yato. He looked away and up at the staircase.

“She must’ve put some booby traps up for anyone who entered when she wasn’t home,” Yato muttered. He took a decisive step forward, and at the sound of a carpeted floorboard creaking, a shriek erupted from upstairs with a cacophony of thumps and stamping.

Yato, Hiyori, and Yukine jumped and closed ranks, wands drawn, as quick footsteps came from the first floor along with some muffled speaking. The squawking stopped, and the house stood silent. They waited, and after a moment a short figure dressed in somewhat nicer rags appeared on the landing.

“Ebisu?”

Yato watched, wide-eyed, as the house-elf came down the last few steps, a hand on the bannister to steady himself. His feet were bare, but his eyes sparkled with what could’ve been mistaken as warmth as he took in the three humans before him.

“Master Yato, you’re home,” Ebisu said. His voice was cracked in places like he had become used to not talking – perhaps he had when his only company was a Hippogriff and a pigeon. His eyes skittered behind Yato, and he inclined slightly at the waist in a bow. “Master Yukine, Miss Hiyori.”

Yato flinched at the formalities; house-elf training that had been engraved in Ebisu and hard to forget even among friends. “Has anyone else been here? Kofuku, the Order?”

Ebisu shook his head, his skin wrinkling in his brow at the question. “No Master. No one has come to this house in over a year.”

Yato winced inwardly. No one had come back to Grimmuald Place since Sakura died, including him. The Order’s headquarters sat abandoned in her death and his desertion, and now in the wake of a direct attack on them.

Yukine opened his mouth to speak, but a loud pop from the living room caught their attention.

“Yato!”

Wands flinched in their hands as Yato cautiously put his head around the door frame. The fireplace had burst into life, flames licking and jumping on the few burnt logs and sending shadows over the darkened room and heavy curtains.

“Yato!”

The voice came again, familiar but relieved as they came into the front room and stood in front of the fire. Ebisu stood a respectful distance out of the way, watching silently. In the flames, they could see Kofuku’s face, shadowed and highlighted by the changing hues of amber and gold. Yato dropped to his knees in front of the fire, his wand on the floor as he leaned in too close to the hearth.

“Kofuku, are you ok?!” Yato asked.

Kofuku’s face showed relief as she nodded. “Yes, we’re fine. The Order fought the Deatheaters off. No losses on our side. Are you three ok?”

“We’re ok, but some Deatheaters tracked us down. We wiped their memories and came straight here.”

“Thank Merlin you’re safe,” Kofuku sighed, but her brow was pinched as she rubbed it. “Did they follow you when you apparated?”

“No,” Hiyori chipped in. She had dropped down beside Yato along with Yukine, leaning into the invisible frame to speak. “Only Yato and Yukine were touching me when we apparated, and they found us about half an hour after we left.”

Kofuku looked over her shoulder, and they could distantly hear Daikoku’s voice saying something. She nodded and turned back.

“I can’t understand how they found you, especially that quickly,” Kofuku said. “You’re sure you weren’t followed?”

“Positive,” Hiyori affirmed.

“Kofuku, what’s happening with the Ministry? Is the Minister actually dead?” Yato said, a note of desperation in his voice.

“It seems that way,” Kofuku said regretfully. “Reports say the Sorcerer has taken the Ministry; Amaterasu’s advisors were traitors from day one.”

The names were distantly familiar, mentioned in the _Daily Prophet_ about a year ago when Amaterasu became Minister of Magic: Mikagami, Mitama, and Mitsuguri. Yato hesitated. The tall man in dark clothes, the one who made them uneasy, who had come to read Tenjin’s will. The one who conveniently kept the Sword of Gryffindor from him.

“Mitsuguri, he’s the one who came to the Burrow,” Yato said slowly.

Madame Kofuku flickered in the flames with a nod. “He must have been sent to case the house; the wedding was the perfect opportunity to attack.”

Yato shuddered inwardly; his comment about Kofuku not wanting to advertise where to kill the Order came true.

“What about the Order? I saw Okuninushi and Kinuha at the wedding-,” Yato started but Kofuku cut him off.

“They’re part of the Order now. We need to unite to fight against the Sorcerer, so we will still be looking for people to join the cause.”

Yato nodded duly, taking it in. _That’s why the Durmstrang and Beauxbaton students and teachers were at the wedding: for the alliance._

“What’s happening at the Ministry?” Yukine interrupted.

Kofuku juddered in the flames that lapped at her face.

“It's in complete disarray. If the most powerful people were traitors I wouldn’t be surprised if many others were corrupt. If not, they may be Imperioed or coerced into working for the Sorcerer,” Kofuku said.

There was a moment of silence between them, punctuated with cracks and creaks of the firewood.

“For now, stay at Grimmauld Place,” Kofuku broke the silence. “Don’t go outside, I’ll contact you in the morning when I know what's going on.”

Yato, Hiyori, and Yukine nodded in response, and Kofuku vanished into the glowing embers.

~

Yato woke up in a mess of blankets that he had taken from his bedroom upstairs. Watery sunlight filtered in between a crack in the curtains they had made to look onto the street for activity, but no one passed the house all night.

They had decided to sleep downstairs so that they would be together and could either protect themselves or make a quick escape through the garden. They’d even slept in their clothes in case they needed to make a quick getaway.

His wand was still in hand across his chest and his other hand lay open on the floor. Above him on the sofa he could just about see Hiyori’s silhouette in the breaking dawn, the steady rise and fall of the blanket around her chest, and the curve of her arm and fingers that were inches from his.

Yato squinted and turned his head on the pillow, seeing Yukine already awake and palming through the Dark Arts book, holding the Deluminator in his hand. The table lamp beside him glowed with a dim yellow light.

“Morning,” Yato said softly.

Yukine looked his way and murmured the greeting in return. He clicked the Delumniator and the lamp turned off.

Yato sat up on his elbows, realising his legs were hopelessly tangled in the sheets. He looked at Hiyori, who was still sleeping and quietly began peeling himself free. “Found anything?”

“Not much,” Yukine shut the book. “There’s not a lot of things that can kill a horcrux besides extremely powerful magic and basilisk venom.”

Yato sighed. They could try magic, but it seemed the best guarantee was the sword. He didn’t have the chance to ask Kofuku if she was returning to Hogwarts, but he could imagine she would be – Sorcerer’s orders, after all. They could only hope that the Sorcerer believed that the Order of the Phoenix had died with Tenjin.

“We should hear from Kofuku soon,” Yukine commented.

Yato mumbled an agreement and looked at Hiyori again. They hadn’t been attacked in the night, which was something at least, but Kofuku’s worry about them being traced back to Grimmauld Place still rang in his head. They could show up at any time.

Yato padded through to the library, his feet tickled by the plush carpets. The bookcase, so very familiar with its books and trinkets, looked down on him. He took a moment to appreciate that he was there in real life, not in a taunting vision as he looked for horcruxes. He knew that two of them were here, and one was still alive.

Yato picked up the goblet and felt the smooth stone of the locket fall into his hand, slightly cold and the chain spilling through his fingers. The familiar call came to him again, begging him to open the stuck clasp, but now Yato knew better than to do what it wanted. He eyed the sapphire goblet but decided to leave the ring; it was dead after all, and no use would come of it.

He slipped it into his pocket and looked at the framed pictures for the last time. His eyes lingered on the original Order of the Phoenix looking back at him hopefully. Tenjin, Kofuku, Daikoku… Sakura.

Yato made a silent promise that he would continue their legacy. That he would defeat the Sorcerer piece by piece until it was just him to kill.

A soft coo came from somewhere downstairs, and Yato stepped out into the hallway. He peaked his head into the dining room where tucked away next to the heavy curtains, was Coo Phone in his battered cage.

The faithful pigeon looked at him curiously as Yato crossed the threshold, stepping lightly and noticing that the families of spiders had moved back into the cabinets and corners. He placed a finger through the wide bars of the cage and smoothed the grey feathers on Coo Phone’s head, murmuring small greetings. It wouldn’t be fair to leave him caged for Merlin-knew how long, but he couldn’t risk using him to deliver messages. Maybe he should set him free, or at least give him a new owner.

Hiyori was awake by the time Yato stepped back into the living room. She was unpacking the clutch bag, comically pulling objects that were far too big from it and placing them on the sofa.

“Tea, Master?”

Yato jumped and spun around. Ebisu stood behind him, quiet and deft on his feet and waiting to serve.

“Yes, thank you,” Yato said slowly.

He watched as Ebisu bowed at the waist again and headed downstairs to the kitchen. He’d never really talked to Ebisu, but he seemed happy to see Yato again, even though he’d practically abandoned him. He couldn’t imagine how lonely he must’ve been in this big empty house when Sakura died.

Yato felt a stab of guilt. He wasn’t family, but he was Sakura’s friend for a long time.

“Yato!” A voice called from behind. Yato jumped and turned, seeing the fireplace had flickered back to life in the form of glowing embers from last night's meeting.

Yato, Hiyori, and Yukine knelt in front of the fire once again, hands on knees, as Kofuku came into focus.

“Any news?” Yato asked.

“Unfortunately so,” Kofuku said bitterly. “The Sorcerer has indeed taken full control of the Ministry of Magic, and anyone who defies him faces the Killing Curse.”

There was a hint of sarcastic venom in Kofuku’s voice Kofuku continued. “The Sorcerer has declared that Muggles stole magic from real witches, as found in a ‘new study by the Department of Mysteries’. Henceforth, _‘all Muggleborns are required to register with the Muggleborn Registration Commission, and provide wizarding heritage to prove where their magic came from’._ ”

Yato, Hiyori, and Yukine exchanged looks.

“Why would he do that?” Yukine asked. “There’s no such thing as pureblood wizards anymore.”

Kofuku shook her head. “The Sorcerer believes there is, as long as the ‘blood-traitors’ of the families are ignored. From the new propaganda the Ministry is spewing out, it looks like he wants to eradicate all Muggleborns from the wizarding world and close us off entirely.”

Kofuku paused before continuing, the silence crackling with tension along with the fire.

“Muggleborns who can’t provide wizarding heritage will be sent to Azkaban, and those who hide them will face the same fate.”

Hiyori froze. She could feel that Yato’s and Yukine’s gaze wanted to look at her, but they didn’t. They looked down at the carpet, fingers itching in the plush threads in uncomfortable silence. They knew just as well as she did what it meant: Hiyori was the first and only witch in her family. There was no magical heritage – not for her.

“What happens if they don’t register?” Yato asked quietly, looking up to meet Kofuku’s sympathetic look.

“They go on the run, or they get snatched,” Kofuku replied.

A dead silence hung in the air, punctuated by the thumping of their hearts and the crackle of splintering logs. Yato felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. They could only assume that snatched wizards didn’t end up in Azkaban.

“And what about Hogwarts?” Yukine asked.

Kofuku’s face flickered in the flames in what was a shake of her head. “Oshi will return as headmistress, as decreed by the Ministry of Magic.”

Yato gritted his teeth. Oshi, the witch who had urged Nora to kill Tenjin, would now sit in his office thinking that she had won. There was no way to get the sword back now, not with Deatheaters swarming the place.

“Mandatory attendance from all teachers and students is required, but Hiyori and Yukine have no choice but to stay away,” Kofuku continued. She looked between Hiyori and Yukine, and then at Yato. “If they can get it, they will use anything you care about against you.”

There was another long, dead silence between them. This was no longer a matter of fighting from the safety of Hogwarts, this was them, on their own.

“What’s our next move?” Hiyori asked. “Are you coming here, or should we come back?”

Kofuku shook her head. “If Deatheaters found you that quickly, then you need to stay on the move. We don’t know how they found you, so Grimmauld Place might be compromised.”

“But all the charms and spells-,” Yato argued, but Kofuku cut him off again quickly.

“I’m sorry, Yato, but we can’t risk using Grimmauld Place. This is dark magic, potential that we will never see or use. They could just as well have the house blown to the sky as easily as you can blink.”

Yato shut his mouth. His jaw tightened. He wanted to argue that Grimmauld Place was his home, that it was impenetrable and the best place to hide, just as Sakura did from the Ministry for all those years, but he knew Kofuku was right. They didn’t know the limitations of dark magic, and he wouldn’t let his stubbornness put Hiyori, Yukine and Ebisu in harm's way to find them out.

“Where do we go?” Yukine broke the silence. It was a question that needed answers, but one that couldn’t be given.

“Get the horcrux and leave as soon as you can,” Kofuku said. The flames began to die out, the logs black and shrivelled and smouldering as Kofuku’s face faded from view. “Go anywhere, everywhere, except home.”

The final flames flickered and Kofuku’s voice faded with a wisp of smoke.

“And stay hidden.”

~

“We’ll need enough food for a few weeks. We don’t want to be appearing in every town we stop in,” Hiyori was saying. She had laid out the entire contents of her bag now, and Yato caught sight of Sakura’s wand case on the arm of the sofa.

They couldn’t stay Grimmauld Place. They couldn’t stay in London. They couldn’t go back to Yukine’s, or Hiyori’s. They certainly couldn’t hole up in any of the wizarding inns with Deatheaters and Snatchers on the loose. They had to go off-grid, vanish into thin air where no one could find them.

Hiyori looked at Yato and his attention snapped up to her, thinking he’d missed something she’d said.

“You wouldn’t have a tent and sleeping bags here, would you?” Hiyori repeated.

“I think I saw some in the cupboard under the stairs when we cleaned up…” Yato scratched the back of his head and looked behind at the small wooden door, but Hiyori was already at it and pulling out the contents before he could move.

“Your invisibility cloak is here, isn’t it?” Yukine asked from behind.

Yato turned back to Yukine and dropped his hand. “Yeah.”

“Better bring it.”

Yato and Yukine bundled up the bedding and carried it upstairs. Yukine dumped his and Hiyori’s blankets on a bed on the first floor and came back downstairs, but Yato continued up past Buckbeak’s quiet room and to his own. He pushed the door open and paused.

He hadn’t thought much about it last night, but now it hit him of what could’ve been – hard. He could’ve come back here and lived happily ever after with Sakura, for a time. He could’ve had a proper home and a sister who loved him as much as his friends did.

Yato felt a lump rise in his throat that he swallowed down hard. He dropped the duvet on the bed and crossed to where he had hidden the invisibility cloak. The material sifted through his hands like water, and he thought how easy it would be to just disappear and never be found.

Yato pulled out an old backpack from the bottom of the wardrobe and stuffed the cloak inside along with some of the clothes he’d left behind. He shouldered the bag, took one last look around, and shut the door.

Yato padded down the staircase and heard Buckbeak caw to him. He paused and turned down the hallway.

He gently opened the bedroom door to Buckbeak nuzzling into the crack, forcing the door handle out of Yato’s hand. The room was in disarray: the bed and pillows were torn with feathers littering the floor and the furniture had been knocked over from his frenzy last night. Buckbeak had the good grace not to defecate in the bedroom, which would have only added to the smell.

Yato patted Buckbeak’s feathered head softly, speaking gentle nothings to him. Perhaps he should release him too – a bedroom was no place for a Hippogriff. He thought of the Burrow and its discreet location, the fields that surrounded it and the clear open sky where he could spread his wings. Yato nodded to himself and pushed his forehead to Buckbeak’s.

“It’s ok, you don’t have to stay here anymore,” Yato whispered. He gently stepped back in a bow and closed the door behind him, Buckbeak’s quizzical eyes disappearing.

Yato jogged down another flight of steps and paused again. He looked at the door at end of the hall: Sakura’s room.

He walked to the door, hesitated, and tentatively put a hand on the doorknob. The latch opened with a click and the door swung open. Yato stood looked inside, partially afraid to enter the space where it seemed time had stood still.

The bed, slightly rumpled, was made up in the same sheets Sakura always slept in. Light shone through the open curtains and the waif netting that obscured the neighbour’s dreary back gardens and dilapidated sheds. On the wall opposite was the fireplace, swept free of ash and lacking firewood.

Yato felt a hot lump rise quickly in his throat and tears were already stinging his eyes faster than he could push them down. He sniffed and let out a shuddered breath, wiping at his eyes.

Nothing had changed, nothing was out of place. It didn’t look like Ebisu had cleared the room of any of her belongings – not that there was much to begin with. It would be Yato’s job to go through her possessions if he could bring himself to disturb her room.

His eyes fell on the bedside table and, guiltily, he crossed over to it. He gently slid open the top drawer. Empty. He opened the second drawer, then the third drawer, but there was nothing.

Yato felt a twinge in his heart. _Where is the mirror?_

The surfaces were clear, and they hadn’t come across it in the house yet. He couldn’t help but feel that wherever she went in the Veil, the mirror went too.

Yato closed the bedroom door with a gentle click and went back downstairs.

Hiyori and Yukine had raided the kitchen for all the camping equipment and non-perishable goods they could carry – which was a lot, thanks to Hiyori’s bag. Yato caught sight of Sakura’s wand case and the Snitch on the sofa. He slid the wand into his backpack alongside his clothes and the cloak and rolled the Snitch in his hand before dropping it into the bag.

He noticed the tea was untouched on its tray, the teapot steaming and the sugar cubes crystalised in their little dish, but they couldn’t afford to hang around.

“Ready?” Yukine asked.

Yato nodded once and led the way out of the living room and to the back door which was hidden beneath the staircase. They stood in the patioed garden and looked at the neighbouring windows, but no one seemed to be watching the strange little group huddled in the morning sunlight.

Yato looked back at the door and saw Ebisu watching them with big green eyes. Yato felt another twinge of guilt to be leaving again so soon, without being able to talk to Ebisu or thank him properly for everything he had done for them.

“Release Coo Phone and Buckbeak, tell them to go to Kofuku’s. And…” Yato shouldered his bag awkwardly. “Stay safe.”

With a touch of a hand, the world faded away.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh the ANGST. Yato's home, the Sakura trap, the guilt of leaving Ebisu alone for two years, and now they're off into the wilderness. Plus the Sorcerer is now coming for muggles... I wonder who's in trouble ;3  
> Not gunna lie, my motivation came back last weekend and I got a good action scene done, but now I have Let's Go Eevee and I haven't the strength to stop playing and write. I've got more direction at least with what's happening so that's a bonus.


End file.
